This invention relates to portable tables and more particularly to portable tables used to support a variety of beverages and accessories.
Portable tables to support beverages and accessories have a variety of primarily recreational uses. Such table can be used at the beach, at picnics, or even in the backyard to provide an easily relocatable and ready surface for beverages and other accessories. U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,026 to Bradley describes a food, beverage, and utility tray which includes an area for a plate and at least one cup holder with the tray designed to set directly on the ground with at least two supports. Although the cup holder can allow a wine glass stem to pass therein, it is not designed to provide support for the wine holding portion of the wine glass due to insufficient length of the legs that support the tray and the table requires a level surface to support the tray.
In order to accommodate wine glasses and provide support for beverages on non-level surfaces, U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,450 to Franklin et al. describes a beverage holding device with multiple arms with ring-shaped cupholders that have attached thereto open loops for supporting wine glasses on each cupholder. The device includes a support with a tapered or spiked end such that the holding device can be inserted into any malleable surface even if the surface is not level. The arms of the Franklin et al. device are collapsible such that it does not provide an upper surface to accommodate other items such as a wine bottle, plates or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,641,156 to Medders et al. provides some additional surface area for a portable drink stand. Medders et al. describes a portable telescoping stand with a variety of attachments for holding beverages, wine glasses, wine bottles, flower vases, and other accessories. The drink stand support is also adjustable to account for varying surfaces. The upper plate like surface includes keyhole shaped openings for supporting wine glasses but other glass or bottle support structures are separately provided by a myriad of attachments which require connection to the stand when needed.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0209645 to Pinzon et al. provides a single unit that includes support for food, beverages and other accessories in a single unit. A wine glass holder is provided as an optional external attachment, but when present provides a somewhat bulky configuration. Also, the unit requires a flat surface or some type of holder (such as a fishing pole holder) for support.
In view of the foregoing, it is clear that there is a need for improved portable tables, a number of which are now provided by the present invention.